Sky's Now TV launches on Android and other platforms tomorrow

British broadcaster Sky has announced that its new Internet-based, on-demand TV service Now TV will be launching on Android and other platforms tomorrow. Competing with the UK's LoveFilm and the recently-launched Netflix, Now TV promises customers an "easy and commitment-free way to enjoy amazing movies, instantly." The first round of content will be taken from Sky's library of movies, with Sports and other TV content due to be added over the next few months. Movies will be available to view for a one-off fee of between £0.99 and £3.49, or view unlimited movies with a Sky Movies Pass for £15 per month. To sweeten the deal, Sky's giving users a free 30-day trial of the Movies Pass, similar to what Netflix currently offers.

The service launches on PC, Mac and "selected Android smartphones" tomorrow, with other platforms including Xbox and iOS begin added later in the year. The "selected" part may set alarm bells ringing, as Sky operates a similar policy for its Sky Go streaming service, which so far has the Android app for that service limited to just a few handsets, with no support for Android 4.0 and above.

Given Sky's comprehensive library of content, though, it certainly has the potential to become a major player in the on-demand TV world. Check past the break for today's press release in full.

HTC One V software update brings with it compatibility with the Media Link HD

Owners of the HTC One V may well soon receive a notification to update their devices software. The update to version 2.08.401.2 weighs in at 46.77MB, and brings with it in particular one rather tasty new feature.

Support is included within for the HTC Media Link HD, HTC's wireless media streaming device. Not too shabby, and an excellent feature for the entry-level, yet handsome and feature packed One V. The usual caveats apply, in that if you bought a carrier unlocked version, you're most likely going to see this one first. Anyone with a carrier locked One V may have to wait a little while longer.

To check if it's ready for you, head into your settings menu, then hit About>Software Updates>Check Now. And, if this now whets your appetite for the Media Link HD, be sure to check out our review.

Pick up the Sony Xperia P from Three UK today

If you have been holding out to pick up the Sony Xperia P in the UK then today is your lucky day. The device is now available to order online with Three and will in in stores tomorrow.

You can pick up the Xperia P for free with a £27 per month, two-year contract and also on pay-as-you-go for just £289.99 which is reasonable enough considering the hardware.

We recently reviewed the handset and it performed very well. The only real downside was the fact it is shipping running Gingerbread. But fear not, as the Xperia P will get an update to Android 4.0, most likely to be next month.

If you're after a decent, mid sized, well specced Android device then you could do a lot worse than the Xperia P. You can catch the full press release from Three after the break.

Jelly Bean ported to the HTC HD2

The HTC HD2, the Swiss Army Knife of smartphones, now has a Jelly Bean port to play with. There's a list of things like the camera and video playback not working, so it's no daily driver just yet but the core functions -- data, Wifi, Bluetooth, and calls do work. Given the huge global developer support the HD2 has, we wouldn't be surprised if everything gets working in short order. Who needs Tango when you can have Jelly Bean?

Nexus 7 gets a tiny OTA update to build JRO03D

Just as Google Nexus 7 tablets are starting to make their way out to consumers, the tablet has received a minor over-the-air update, the second OTA for those who got the Google I/O edition. As far as we can tell, this is a minor update for the Jelly Bean tablet, weighing just 859KB and updating as quickly as you'd expect for a file of that size. The only change we've noticed so far is the addition of a little more technical info in the "About Tablet" screen. FCC ID, IC and model number have been added, presumably to give folks an easy way of finding that stuff if they don't hold onto the sticker that's fixed to the back of the tablet.

The build number's been upped from JRO03C to JRO03D, too, but we haven't noticed any other changes upon starting our Nexii up with the new version. At the numeric level, JRO03D is still Android 4.1.1. (And yes, the local search feature is still alive and well, so there's no need to worry about that.)

If you've noticed anything new on your own device, be sure to shout out in the comments.

U.S. Xoom Wifi owners being invited to take part in software tests, cue speculation

U.S. Motorola Xoom Wifi owners look set to receive a software update in the not too distant future. Users registered on the Motorola feedback network are starting to receive emails asking them to take part in a software test. The full email reads like this:

Hi. Thanks for joining the Motorola Feedback Network. We would like to invite to you take part in a software test for owners of the U.S. Wi-Fi Xoom. If you are not using a U.S. Wi-Fi Xoom, please excuse and ignore this message.

If you're interested in testing new software and providing feedback about your experience, please fill out this short registration form: We recommend you respond as quickly as possible as start times are generally fluid. Please be patient if we don't contact you right away -- and be prepared for a launch at any time. When we're ready to begin we will send an email with more information, if you register successfully.

You can find the Atrix HD online or in AT&T stores for $99 with a new 2-year contract. It's a solid device and for $99 is a great deal if you're looking for a good specs but don't want to shell out $199. If you plan to pick one up or have thoughts about it already, we'd love to hear from you in the Motorola Atrix HD Forum.

The Nexus Q running CyanogenMod

File this under "things that make Jerry say giggity!" -- Jason Parker has built CyanogenMod 9 and booted in on his Google Nexus Q. Using the Galaxy Nexus base (makes sense -- a good bit of the hardware is the same) to build, Parker has a bootable ROM with Bluetooth and Wifi working. There's surely plenty of bugs to work out, but now would be a good time for us all to think about the Nexus Q with full blown Android and XBMC, connected to our big screen. We like thinking that way.

So you're all psyched about using the new fast keyboard in Jelly Bean, and digging the predictive text feature. But after a while, if you're like me, you realize that things went much smoother when you had all your punctuation options in your selection bar after typing a word instead of a guess for the next word. Predictive text is cool, but different strokes for different folks, right? Here's an easy fix from martonikaj in the Jelly Bean forums.

Buried deep in the settings (deeper than I cared to look the first time around) you can shut predictive text off, and still have word correction while typing, but when you hit the spacebar, you get your missing exclamation point and all the rest of your punctuation back up there where it always used to be.

If this fits your typing style better than predictive text, hit the forums link below and have a look. Be sure to tell martonikaj thanks while you're at it!

Sprint's LTE network officially launched today

Even though many users have been seeing it before now, today marks a momentous occasion for Sprint. Today, July 15, sees the official launch of their LTE network in Kansas City, San Antonio, Dallas, Houston and Atlanta.

We reported yesterday that various Android Central forums users have been seeing their LTE data light up ahead of time, and while speeds seem to be varying across the board, on the whole everyone seems pleased thus far.

Let us know what kind of data speeds your seeing in the comments below, or head on over to the Android Central forums where the discussions are sure to carry on for some time yet.

HTC Desire C review

When buying a smartphone on a budget, compromises often need to be made, usually with screen size, and quality, overall horsepower. But sadly, too often the user experience also suffers. However much you're spending on an Android phone, no-one wants to come away with a device running year-old software or a clunky manufacturer skin.

Enter HTC -- we've all seen the One series, the mammoth One X, the superb middle ground in the One S, and the entry offering in the One V. But there's now a younger sibling, the HTC Desire C. While it may be small, not to mention less spec-filled than many AC readers would be looking for, it offers up something that too many devices launched throughout the first half of 2012 have lacked -- Android 4.0. Not just that, the Desire C also brings HTC Sense 4.0 with it too -- and all for just £150. Sounds great, right? Find out how the Desire C measures up after the break.

Try out the Jelly Bean Keyboard on your ICS device

One of the, many, awesome new features in Android 4.1 Jelly Bean, is the keyboard. While sharing appearance with it's predecessor, where the Jelly Bean keyboard excels over Ice Cream Sandwich, is in its built in prediction engine. Predictions when done correctly -- see the Android Central favorite, Swiftkey, for a striking example -- they are an incredibly useful tool.

Thanks to a developer going by the handle of Beansoft, this new prediction filled keyboard has now been ported for use on ICS devices running 4.0.3 and above. Simply known as Jelly Bean Keyboard, the early alpha build is out there in the Google Play Store now. As this is an early build, a big old bucket of bugs are likely, but for the most part some users seem to be enjoying reasonable success.

Currently known limitations surround languages, in that full next word prediction and auto correction is only currently supported for English. Additionally, only English, German, French, Spanish, Portugese (Brazil) and Russian is supported at this time. The user dictionary also doesn't work on ICS, and trying will push it into a force close.

To use once installed, don't forget to head into the "Language and Input" settings menu, and select Jelly Bean Keyboard as your default input. If you decide to take the plunge, hit up the comments below and let us know how you get along.

Samsung now taking registrations for developer day at IFA 2012 in Berlin

IFA 2012 in Berlin is just over a month away, and we know for sure that Samsung will be there. Over on their developer portal, registrations have opened up to a developer day the Korean manufacturer will be throwing at the event.

Scheduled to take place on Thursday August 30 from 14:00 - 18:00, interested developers are urged to sign up quickly as places are limited. Invitations to those selected will then be sent out on August 1.

No session details have been posted as yet, but developers are promised the chance to "meet the latest technology from Samsung platforms" and to "learn about Samsung's latest devices and services" complete with demonstrations. Make of that what you will, but rumor-mongers will surely try and link a vague statement such as this to the fervent rumors of a new Galaxy Note making an appearence in Germany. Whatever we see though, we'll be on the ground in Berlin next month to bring you it all.

According to various different reports in the Android Central forums, Sprint users are starting to see LTE data in cities slated for tomorrows turn on. We've got threads stating that LTE has been turned on in San Antonio, Dallas, Atlanta, Kansas City and Houston, all the cities we were expecting to see fired up tomorrow.

If you're seeing LTE yourselves, why not let us know down in the comments below, or head on over to the Android Central forums and join in the discussion.